Cambodia’s petroleum imports decrease

Cambodia’s petroleum imports decrease

The Kingdom imported 412,190 tonnes of petroleum in the first quarter of 2013, compared with 471,000 tonnes in the same period the previous year, a decline of 12 per cent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

A private sector representative said the drop does not mean a slowdown in production but came as a result of more stock being kept over from 2012 because of price fluctuations.

The data showed that between January and March of this year the country spent $397 million on petroleum, down 15 per cent from $469 million during the same period last year.

Nguon Meng Tech, director-general of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said the country’s business activities are still going well and the decline in oil imports does not mean the economy is not progressing.

“Our production sector is growing ... we still produce more goods for export. So I think the decline is caused by the fact that most of the gasoline stations have been importing [to fill up their] stocks during the [time of low] prices,” he said.

Meng Saktheara, director-general of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy said earlier this month that Cambodia currently gets some energy from hydropower and coal plants, helping to reduce reliance on imported petrol.

Bin May Mialia, commercial director at PTT, the Thai state-owned oil company, could not be reached for comment.

Currently, the country purchases petroleum from Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand as its offshore oil and gas reserves have not yet been exploited.

MOST VIEWED

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Sydney’s Hyde Park on Friday to protest against Cambodian strongman Hun Sen, who claimed to have been gifted millions of dollars by the Australian government ahead of a special Asean summit this weekend.
An estimated 300 protesters, the majority of

An American citizen was arrested on request by the US Embassy in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, according to Cambodian police.
Major General Uk Hei Sela, chief of investigations at the Department of Immigration, identified the man as American Jan Sterling Hagen, and said he was

Updated: 5:20pm, Friday 16 March 2018
An Australian tourist and a Cambodian soldier were killed in an explosion on Thursday afternoon at an army base in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province.
The Australian, whom the government initially identified as a technical demining expert in his 40s, and

When the man passed away, he had not yet reached 50.
He belonged to a tribe that had settled near the Sangker River in Battambang province, likely cultivating the fields and raising animals. On the side, they hunted for boars, and even turtles, one of which